Kentucky’s Mark Pope responds to criticism: ‘We’re not getting the job done’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky started SEC 0-2; Pope accepts blame and calls performance inadequate.
- Pope cited injuries and mental fatigue while urging players and staff to refocus.
- Pope addresses mental toll on players and urges team to 'write the end' and rebuild focus.
Things aren’t going well in the world of Kentucky basketball, as Mark Pope will be the first to tell you.
Plenty of other people — across the commonwealth and around the country — are saying it, too. On Thursday, CBS Sports posted a rundown of the star-studded college basketball coaching carousel of 2024 and issued letter grades to 13 high-major hires from that cycle.
Former UK coach John Calipari received an A- for his work so far at Arkansas. Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey got an A-, too. Kevin Young, who replaced Pope at BYU, earned an A. SEC rival Mark Byington (Vanderbilt) and national darling Dusty May (Michigan) both got an A+.
Pope received a D, the lowest score on the list.
The grades came out the day after Kentucky blew a lead in the final minute to lose to double-digit underdog Missouri in Rupp Arena and fall to 0-2 in SEC play. The Cats will take a 9-6 record — with three losses of at least 15 points — into another home game with Mississippi State on Saturday night.
In his weekly press conference Friday afternoon, Pope was asked about the grade from CBS.
“That’s probably generous,” he interjected with a grin, before the question was finished.
Pope went on to say that the designation had been earned, and he repeated his declaration from the night of the Missouri loss that he’s not entitled to any special treatment from angry UK fans.
“We’re not winning like we’re supposed to win right now. That’s a fact,” Pope said. “It’s not emotional. It’s not a character flaw. It’s just like, we’re not getting the job done the way that we expected to get the job done here at Kentucky. So I don’t think that’s subjective.
“We started the SEC 0-2. There’s nothing subjective about that. It’s just exactly where we are. That’s why I love sports, because it’s not subjective. And so if you told me that the head coach at the University of Kentucky led them to an 0-2 start in the SEC, I’d say a D is generous. That’s just what it is. And if we run off the next six, I’d say, ‘Eh, maybe I’d move him up to a D-plus, because Kentucky shouldn’t be 6-2 (either).’ It’s not emotional. It’s like, ‘We have a job to do.’ And you just do your job or you don’t.”
The Wildcats haven’t gotten the job done, with a 35-point loss to Gonzaga, an 18-point loss to Michigan State, a 15-point loss to Alabama to start league play last weekend, plus an eight-point defeat to archrival Louisville, which led by as many as 20 points in the second half of that game. UK is also 1-2 against high-major competition in Rupp Arena, with losses to Missouri and North Carolina, blowing late leads in both of those defeats.
“The outcome is we’re 0-2 in SEC play, and I’m the leader of this program, and that’s exactly what it is,” Pope said. “What’s fun is that — at Kentucky, more than anywhere else — we’re going to talk about it 24/7, and postulate, because we care so much. So that’s where all those conversations come in.
“But we’re exactly where we are. And I actually don’t want to run from it, because the end of the story is so good. But it’s not going to be so good if we don’t get to talk about being 0-2 to start the SEC. That’s why it’s great, you know? Like, most people want to run from the messy middle of the deal, man. I’m not. Like, ‘Let’s dig in and let’s go.’ That’s how special stories happen.”
Pope’s comments Friday came before the midway point of the 2025-26 regular season. That will officially come at halftime of the Mississippi State matchup — game 16 of 31 on the schedule — Saturday night.
The Kentucky coach knows there is plenty of time for his team to turn things around — and plenty of opportunities to earn wins that would look good on a Selection Sunday résumé — especially given the fact that key players such as Jaland Lowe and Jayden Quaintance are still working their way back from injuries.
But the Cats have looked discombobulated over their first two SEC games. The loss in Alabama was lopsided for most of the afternoon, but the ending against Missouri was especially troubling. UK was outscored 15-2 over the final four and a half minutes, with the Wildcats committing several miscues down the stretch.
A question Friday about the possibility of “mental fatigue” creeping up on the Cats in such scenarios — especially among players who haven’t played major minutes or appeared in many end-of-game situations this season, due to injury or other circumstances — led Pope to talk about his own approach to the current situation.
“I think everybody has mental fatigue everywhere right now, if you’re putting your whole heart and soul into it,” he said. “But that’s our job — to not let that have any impact on today or yesterday or tomorrow. One of the things I love about sports is it teaches you that you have to. It doesn’t matter how bad things get, you can’t go back and rewrite what happened. You can just write the end of the story …
“Right now, it’s like the worst moment, the lowest point, all the stuff. And this never goes away. It’s always: the next thing you do is actually going to rewrite what happened before. So, there’s no time for indulging in feeling terrible. I spent a lot of time feeling like I’d like to curl up in bed and kill myself. But that’s actually not what we do. We raise up, and we get to work, and we find answers.”
Pope’s choice of words — “feeling like I’d like to curl up in bed and kill myself,” which he said with a slight smile on his face — spread quickly across social media Friday, and the comment was roundly criticized.
He continued talking on the topic, steering it back to the idea that he, his coaching staff and his players need to do their best to move beyond the mental and emotional toll of their struggles to this point.
“That’s actually where the great part of life comes from, is answering the bell, when everybody thinks you can’t do it, shouldn’t do it, won’t do and aren’t going to do it,” he said. “Most people are too scared to go there. We’re not.
“I wish we weren’t here right now, but it’s where we are. And so it’s us rising up and doing it. So there’s no time. There’s no hangover. That’s not acceptable. It’s not OK.”
